Christmas spirit alive in local heroes

Police officers, fire fighters, emergency personnel and members of the armed forces are heroes every day.

And on top of their normal duties, on Monday they donated their time to help children shop for Christmas presents for their families in the Shop With a Hero program at Walmart.

The program is in its tenth year and is sponsored by Walmart, Pepsi, Coke, the Cheboygan Chapter of the Warthogs Motorcycle Club and contributions of private individuals.

The Shop With a Hero program gives children the opportunity to shop for gifts with a $50 gift certificate and the help of a hero who keeps track of the amount they've spent and the tax, said Cheboygan Director of Public Safety Kurt Jones.

Jones said that the heroes get the names of needy families from schools in the area.

“It's all for a really good cause. We've got 80-to-90 kids here tonight.”

Heroes from Cheboygan Department of Public Safety, the Cheboygan County Sheriff Department, Mackinaw City Police Department, Tuscarora Township Police Department, and the Mackinac County Sheriff Department all participated, along with Cheboygan Life Support Systems.

The Alverno, Inverness, Cheboygan, Tuscarora and Mackinaw City fire departments and the Michigan National Guard were on hand as well to help the kids find the perfect present for their families.